What's in it for you? The value of joining a Society committee

Society for Endocrinology committees underpin all the Society’s activities. For example, our Clinical Committee helps develop clinical practice, supports clinical research and inspires clinical education and career development, while our Public Engagement Committee develops our outreach strategy, and oversees our programme of public events and related training opportunities for members.

To ensure we provide the best support to all our members – be they clinicians, nurses or basic scientists – it is important that a diverse range of people are involved. Being a committee member allows you to make an impact on the discipline, informing how we support endocrinologists, and championing endocrinology to the wider world. It’s also a great opportunity to grow your network of contacts to develop your own career.

Several committee vacancies need to be filled from January 2018, and we encourage members from all backgrounds and career stages to apply. So, what’s it like to be on a Society committee?

Find out as three of our committee members share their experiences.

Stephanie Baldeweg

Stephanie is Clinical Lead of the Department of Diabetes & Endocrinology at University College London (UCL) Hospital, and Consultant Physician in Diabetes & Endocrinology and Honorary Senior Lecturer at UCL. She is a current member of our Clinical and Public Engagement Committees.

Why did you decide to get involved with the Society's committees?

Like many of my colleagues, I have greatly benefited from the Society for Endocrinology’s excellent work, and decided I wanted to give something back and contribute more actively to shape the Society’s activities. Colleagues suggested that I should apply to be on the Clinical Committee. This definitely piqued my interest, as I had enjoyed founding and working on the National Guideline Group for Emergency Management of Pituitary Apoplexy, as well as being interested in teaching, clinical education and career development.

I realised that the Public Engagement Committee might also be closely aligned with my interests. My enthusiasm in this area has resulted in my involvement locally and nationally with patient support groups (I am a Trustee of The Pituitary Foundation) and I was looking for an opportunity to apply this on a wider scale.

I applied to both committees with strong support from my colleagues. I was hoping for more involvement in the Society, working with like-minded people, learning new things/ adding variety to my professional portfolio and applying my skills to benefit the endocrine community.

What does being a Committee member involve?

You need to attend a set number of meetings a year. These are usually very stimulating and rewarding as projects come to fruition. Throughout the year there are actions from meetings and often additional email discussions and phone calls to help to move projects along.

On the Public Engagement Committee I helped develop the Society’s public engagement strategies, shaping the website and other resources, overseeing and participating in public engagement events (e.g. the BMA career fair) and learning more about press involvement.

On the Clinical Committee I was involved in developing clinical guidelines and contributing to strategies and events focused on teaching, clinical education and career development.

What's your experience of being a Committee member been like?

I have greatly enjoyed being a member of both committees, and have benefited from and contributed to the exchange of ideas. Different viewpoints on many topics from colleagues across the country and from people in a number of organisations have shaped my thinking on the future of education in endocrinology.

Has being on the Committee brought you any benefits?

It has without doubt been beneficial to my personal development, giving me a sense of contributing to our endocrine community. I have learnt much from others, both junior and senior, and have enjoyed the exchange of ideas. I have been able to shape events and strategies using my expertise. I have fine-tuned my non-clinical skills and have brought many ideas back to my local hospital trust, directly benefiting my patients and colleagues.

Kim Jonas

Kim is a Lecturer in Reproductive Physiology at St George’s University of London. She currently sits on our Science Committee and the Editorial Board for The Endocrinologist. In the past, she chaired our Early Career Steering Group and sat on our Public Engagement Committee.

Why did you decide to get involved with the Society's committees?

My first postdoc mentor, Rob Fowkes, encouraged me to join the Young Endocrinologists’ (YE) Steering Group (now the Early Career Steering Group) when a call for members was announced. If I’m totally honest, I joined not really knowing what to expect! But I knew that I wanted to contribute to the Society for Endocrinology and to be actively involved in the YE Steering Group – ‘the voice of my peers’ – to enable me to represent the YE demographic within the Society.

What does being a Committee member involve?

This very much depends on the remit of the committee concerned. Over the years, I’ve served on the YE Steering Group, the Public Engagement Committee and, currently, the Science Committee and the Editorial Board of The Endocrinologist. Each has very different requirements, but all require attendance of two or three meetings per year, plus email communication in between. For the Science Committee, my main tasks are marking grant applications, contributing symposium ideas for the Society for Endocrinology BES conference, and responding to policy documents received on an ad hoc basis. For The Endocrinologist’s Editorial Board, the role involves contributing ideas for the quarterly magazine, writing articles and hot topics, and suggesting/inviting people to write articles for each issue.

What's your experience of being a Committee member been like?

I can truthfully say that it has been a hugely positive experience. You get to see the ins and outs of how the Society works, and understand why and how the organisation evolves. It’s been great to be a part of positive changes that have been implemented: for example, the instigation of the Early Career Grants, and the establishment of the YE Quiz (now the Early Career Quiz) at the Society for Endocrinology BES conference. Both these things have been a huge success for the Society and the YE demographic. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet some fantastic people along the way, which has been a great added bonus of committee membership.

Has being on the Committees brought you any benefits?

One of the major benefits has been the networking opportunities. This has been particularly valuable at this early stage of my independent career, establishing collaborations and having people to support and review grant applications.

Kate Lines

Kate is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, University of Oxford. She is the incoming chair of our Early Career Steering Group.

Why did you decide to get involved with the Society's committees?

I applied to be on the Early Career Steering Group in the third year of being a postdoc. I had attended the Society for Endocrinology BES conference the previous year, where I also went to the Early Career Quiz. I was sharing an office with a member of the Science Committee, and when I mentioned the Quiz they said there was a vacancy on the Early Career Steering Group and suggested I should apply. Having been on the social committee where I did my PhD, I thought it would be a good opportunity to interact with other early career researchers and carry on organising events.

What does being a Committee member involve?

The primary responsibilities are coming up with suggestions for our session at the Society for Endocrinology BES conference, organising the Early Career Quiz and thinking of ways to support the Society’s early career members, such as setting up and maintaining a Twitter account. We attend two meetings a year in Bristol. We are also involved in other activities, including writing articles for The Endocrinologist, judging the SfE BES Junior Poster Prize and attending events, such as the Parliamentary Links Day.

What's your experience of being a Committee member been like?

I have really enjoyed it, so much so that I have now agreed to become the Chair and serve for a further 2 years! Interacting with the other committee members and the early career researchers, as well as the Society’s staff, has been really fulfilling. It has also been very rewarding to see our suggestions recognised: for example, seeing the speakers you suggested on the programme at the Society for Endocrinology BES conference, and the introduction of the Junior Poster Prize for Student members.

Has being on the committee brought you any benefits?

In addition to being enjoyable, it has been a great opportunity for networking with more senior endocrinologists, and so getting both myself and my work recognised. It has also given me the opportunity to chair sessions at the Society for Endocrinology BES conference and to take part in public engagement activities. These are very useful to have on your CV.

JOIN A SOCIETY COMMITTEE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Opportunities are coming up on the following committees from the end of 2017. The deadline for nominations is 30 June 2017. Please consider putting your name forward – we welcome applications from Society members of all backgrounds and career stages.

Clinical Committee

Corporate Liaison Board

Early Career Steering Group

Finance Committee

Nurse Committee

Programme Committee

Public Engagement Committee

Science Committee

You can learn more about the remit of each committee, and details of how to apply on our governance pages. If you have any informal queries, please contact Julie Cragg.